the media blitz intel launched to promote its centrino brand and new pentium m mobile processor is in full swing. at the same time (though with considerably less fanfare), amd announced its latest mobile processor, the athlon xp-m. how does this one stack up against the pentium m, which delivered long battery life and top-notch performance on our tests (first looks, april 8)? fujitsu made a head-to-head comparison easy with near-identical systems, one based on the athlon xp-m and the other on the pentium m.

the new fujitsu lifebook s2010 features the athlon xp-m 1700+. the fujitsu lifebook s6120 houses either the 1.4- or 1.6-ghz intel pentium m and is a full-fledged centrino notebook (meaning it incorporates intel's 802.11b wireless networking solution). the 1.6-ghz intel machine we received for review won't be available until june; the 1.4-ghz system will be out by the time you read this. comparing the 1.6-ghz intel chip with the 1700+ is fair, since amd's performance rating (the "1700+" in the chip's name) indicates that amd is expecting the pep of a 1.7-ghz chip, even though the actual clock speed is 1.47 ghz.

like the other low-voltage versions of the athlon xp-m processors (1400+, 1500+, 1600+, and 1800+), the 1700+ is based on 0.13-micron thoroughbred architecture, with 384k of total cache (128k l1 and 256k l2). the athlon xp-m has the same quantispeed architecture as its thoroughbred desktop companion. and, like previous amd mobile chips, the athlon xp-m also has amd powernow! technology, which dynamically changes cpu power draw depending on the tasks at hand.

intel has a similar approach in the pentium m, although with better results (as we'll discuss in a moment). at 4.5 pounds, the lifebook s series is designed to be ultraportable, so fujitsu did not use the faster, higher-voltage athlon xp-m chips, which are based on the more advanced barton core, have 640k of total cache (128k l1 and 512k l2), and are rated at 2200+, 2400+, and 2500+.

as our performance tests show, the athlon xp-m 1700+ can't keep pace with the pentium m when it comes to speed: the lifebook s2010 was beaten on all our tests by the 1.6-ghz pentium mpowered lifebook s6120. when it comes to battery life, intel is again clearly doing something right. on our business winstone 2002 batterymark test, the s6120 lasted 3 hours 39 minutes; the s2010 managed only 2:58.

but where the amd-based machine wins is on price. the extra punch and runtime delivered by the intel-based s6120 costs an extra $460. that means the intel architecture adds almost 30 percent to the cost of the lifebook s platform.

as for the systems as a whole, fujitsu has done a fine job of packaging a lot into the sleek 1.36- by 11.5- by 9.3-inch (hwd) chassis. the 13.3-inch xga screens look impressive. both models have 512mb of ddr 266 sdram, 802.11b wireless and wired ethernet, a modem, plus two usb 2.0 jacks, a type ii pc card slot, and ir. not leaving anything out, fujitsu has connections for an external monitor, headphone and mic, and a docking port. the lifebooks come with a one-year limited warranty on parts and labor and 24/7 tech support.

we like having an optical drive (a dvd/cd-rw combo in our test configurations) built into a light notebook. you can reduce system weight to 3.9 pounds by swapping the drive with a plastic weight saver when you won't be using the drive. the other drive in the machine, a 60gb 4,200-rpm hard drive, offers excellent storage capacity for this class.

the keyboard's alphanumeric keys are full size, though some others are not, and some keys are awkwardly placed. for instance, the right-hand shift key is frustratingly narrow, which often caused us to hit the up arrow key when we wanted the shift key. the spacebar is also hard to strike because of the placement of the touch pad.

that aside, we easily recommend these attractive, robust fujitsu lifebook systems. if battery life and performance are your main considerations, the s6210 is a very good choice among centrino offerings. if price is a critical decision point, the s2010 is a good value.

AMD Tries to Counter the Centri...

AMD Tries to Counter the Centrino Juggernaut

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